Drainage Improvements

Drainage work on U.S. Highway 27 in Four Corners will continue to drive frustration. The work has made access to some businesses north and south of Interstate 4 a little difficult as drainage improvements are buried, but no businesses have been completely blocked by the work. On I-4, work progresses on the Osceola and Polk sides of the county line. POLK INTERSTATE 4 - A reduced 55 mph speed limit is being vigorously enforced by the Florida Highway Patrol along a 7-mile stretch of I-4 from County Road 557 (Exit 48)

DAYTONA BEACH -- Hoping to avoid the flooding calamities brought on by Tropical Storm Fay, a Volusia group of city and county officials agreed Friday that the county's top fixes should include drainage improvements in southwest Volusia and a $2.2 million buyout of flood-prone homes in DeBary. Flooding fixes for Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City, the DeBary Golf and Country Club neighborhood and the Lake Piedmont neighborhood in Deltona won top ranking among projects vying for $3.5 million in federal money available for post-Fay fixes.

Homeowners could be slapped with a new utility user fee of up to $5 a month to pay for $1.1 million in stormwater drainage improvements designed to avert a repeat of the severe flooding experienced in April 1984.Consultants with Camp Dresser & McKee Inc. of Maitland have recommended the city enact a new ordinance establishing user fees as part of a comprehensive stormwater runoff master plan for Kissimmee and the surrounding area.Nilo Priede, a financial expert with the environmental consulting firm, said the ordinance creates an equitable ''pay-as-you-pave'' system to handle increased stormwater runoff spawned by new development.

For weeks, city officials have been focused on getting voters' support for a $10 million bond to speed up repairs and upgrades to DeBary's drainage system. Voters signed off on the bonds Tuesday. But it will take a while -- probably more than a year -- before residents "see some dirt flying," City Manager Maryann Courson said this week. First, Courson said, the city has to figure out the best way to finance the projects. Then, officials have to work out other issues -- including getting engineers and permits -- before work can begin on 36 drainage projects.

Engineers will study the possibility of widening and adding turn lanes to a 1 1/2-mile stretch of Holden Avenue that daily carries as many as 3,500 vehicles more than it was designed to handle.Drainage improvements also will be considered in the study of the two-lane section between Orange Avenue and Orange Blossom Trail, said Wes Moore, manager of Orange County's highway construction department.The lack of turn lanes clogs traffic on the two-lane section, which is traveled by an average of 13,500 vehicles a day, according to a 1985 traffic count.

Look one last time at the big oak tree on Summerlin Avenue near Church Street. It is doomed.City workers will cut down that tree and 21 others on Summerlin between Robinson and South streets in the next several weeks as Orlando begins street and drainage improvements.''I was literally in shock at 6:30 this morning when I was driving down the road,'' said Daniel Grell, 45, who lives nearby on Harwood Street. ''They are going to devastate the neighborhood.''The $2 million project, scheduled to begin this month and end next May, will add left-turn lanes on Summerlin at South Street, Central Boulevard and Robinson Street.

- Apopka-Vineland Road: Closed between Clarcona-Ocoee Road and 18th Street in Apopka for drainage improvements and resurfacing. Completion date: March. Cost: $2.4 million.EAST ORANGE - Alafaya Trail: Widening from two to six lanes for 2 1/2 miles between State Road 50 and University Boulevard. Completion date: 1991. Cost: $7.7 million.SOUTH ORANGE - Turkey Lake Road: Lane diversions just east of Vineland Road for drainage improvements and road widening. Some lanes will be closed during the project.

Orange County engineers will hold a neighborhood meeting today to discuss the possible paving and drainage improvements for Kilgore Road.The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of Dr. Phillips Elementary School, 6909 Dr. Phillips Blvd.Staff members will talk about whether the southwest Orange County road should be paved or left as dirt.Even if the road is not paved, Commissioner Vera Carter has called for drainage improvements.Many people in the neighborhood are split over the issue.

Several key issues face the Seminole County Commission this year, from economic development to ambulance service to drainage improvements.Now readers can keep track of how county commissioners vote on those issues and more. Today, the Seminole Extra launches a regular biweekly report called ''How they voted.'' The listing summarizes major issues on the agenda and how each commissioner voted. See page K-2.

The intersection of Red Bug Lake Road at State Road 436 will be closed from 9 p.m. tonight through 7 a.m. Monday for drainage improvements.Motorists will be detoured along Winter Park Drive.The weekend closing is part of the work to widen S.R. 436 between Lake Howell Road and Oxford Road. The $3.7 million project should be completed by December.

DEBARY -- If this city had a New Year's resolution, it might go something like this: Let's stay dry in 2005. That, at least, is the goal for this year and every year thereafter judging by the ambitious agenda shaping up for the City Council in the aftermath of September's flooding crisis. Goals for this year focus heavily on managing storm water and range from finalizing a plan for drainage improvements to imposing a new fee to pay solely for those projects. The effort to stay dry, projected to cost $5 million and take at least five years to finish, continues Wednesday when the City Council considers lifting a stop-work order in the Saxon Woods development.

POLK INTERSTATE 4 - One westbound lane will be closed from 8 p.m. today to 4 a.m. Friday for construction of a new outside lane and shoulder. The lane will be closed midway between U.S. Highway 27 and County Road 557 for about two miles. - An eastbound lane will be closed from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. today from Carpenters Way (milepost 321/2) to Socrum Loop Road (Exit 33) for paving. - An eastbound lane will be closed from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. today and Friday from the Polk Parkway (Exit 41) to State Road 559 (Exit 44)

Work on the Interstate 4 overpass at the Osceola and Polk county line continues to slow eastbound traffic. With few alternatives, motorists can look ahead on the project's Web site (i4polk.com) before heading out into traffic. In Osceola, construction on U.S. Highway 192 between Four Corners and Kissimmee also has brought traffic to a halt at times. The highway is being widened and spruced up. POLK INTERSTATE 4 - One lane of eastbound I-4 for a 2-mile stretch between County Road 557 (Exit 48)

Work in the Four Corners along Interstate 4 continues to shift to the west, with most construction from the county line with Osceola to U.S. Highway 27 complete. Work on the bridge at U.S. 27 continues, and work to the west is getting more intense. Massive concrete beams were scheduled to be delivered this week to the work site at Kathleen Road north of Lakeland, where they will become the base for a new bridge. The 186,000-pound beams will span 162 feet across I-4. This could delay traffic late this week.

Drainage work on U.S. Highway 27 in Four Corners will continue to drive frustration. The work has made access to some businesses north and south of Interstate 4 a little difficult as drainage improvements are buried, but no businesses have been completely blocked by the work. On I-4, work progresses on the Osceola and Polk sides of the county line. POLK INTERSTATE 4 - A reduced 55 mph speed limit is being vigorously enforced by the Florida Highway Patrol along a 7-mile stretch of I-4 from County Road 557 (Exit 48)

As work picks up, guess what slows down? That's right: the speed limit. The state Department of Transportation has extended the reduced-speed zone along Interstate 4 in Polk County to between State Road 559 and U.S. Highway 27, where heavy construction activity is under way. However, between U.S. 27 and the Polk and Osceola county line at ChampionsGate, most work has been completed, and the speed limit has been increased to 65 mph. But don't get too...